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Mr Jeremy Fisher et moi

It has been an eventful month.

True, April has not come to its end and surprises may happen during the few remaining days. However, this month has been a month of landmarks. It has been a year since I have begun writing this blog. I have now scribbled more than a hundred posts – this one is the 111th! You belong to a number of readers to whom I never thought I would be of interest. Some of you have been following my ramblings with patience since the beginning. Some of you are new to my meandering and wandering thoughts and prose.

I thank you all.

I thank very particularly those friends who will recognize themselves: they encouraged me to write, gave tirelessly their advice, were next to me when I despaired and when I was over-enthusiastic; they have edited my errors in English, corrected my typos, suggested alternative vocabulary, seen to my grammar, and respected my quaint French way of saying things in a foreign language; they have made comments, emailed me, supported me, comforted me, given me huge chunks of their time.

I am deeply grateful to them.

You may not aware of it but you have given a new direction and a new meaning to my life. I never knew I had a voice before. My throat was constricted and, at best, I croaked on my lily-pad leaf, close, very close, to the banks of the river. I was afraid of leaving the security of the banks, and I resented this closeness at the same time. I felt shackled and bound, with a heavy past, a heavy present, and not much of a future. To write, to be read, to read you, to talk with you, all these have changed my perspectives. There are still bad days but there are far more happy ones.

I thank you.

And now I have taken my lily-pad leaf boat even further.

I have made a frog leap, like Mr Jeremy Fisher.

Some time ago, I felt the urge of writing something different from the blog. Before knowing how, there was a short story in the memory of my computer. Then there was another. And yet another. I sent them to these special friends for advice: I was incredulous and very much doubting about their worth. They were returned with critics, comments, editing, corrections. And they stayed in the memory of my laptop.

I learnt blogging during the past year, but I also learnt tweeting, posting on Facebook (by the way, here is my blogger page where I shall be glad to have the entries of your blog(s) posted if you wish, comments by non bloggers if they wish, discussions among you if you wish:

Quite recently, I discovered there is a special section for “creative writing” in Goodreads. After some steps of “hesitation waltz”, I decided to post the first of my short stories. Tentative post entitled: The Waltz and the Leopard. It is rather long to be copied as a blog entry, but you may find it here, following this link:

17 thoughts on “Mr Jeremy Fisher et moi”

You have such a beautiful way of putting things 🙂 I am very pleased that you are out on your lily-pad, traversing the great pond like the wonderful Jeremy Fisher. I have popped over and liked your Facebook page (it will show up under my real name, of course). I congratulate you on your blog and I look forward to spending many a happy while, continuing to enjoy your lovely writing.

I saw that you came to my FB page: thank you very much. I already went to the Porter Girl page and you are now in my time line in FB.
Thank you for your “encouragements” (is this an English word?) and compliments.
Do you, as a writer, truly think that I may keepon writing and that this writing has any value?

Hurrah, now we are friends!
I truly believe that your writing does have great value and I am always lost in another little world whenever I visit your blog, which is exactly as it should be. You have a wonderful way with words and it seems impossible to me that English is not your first language. I sincerely hope you continue to write – writing only gets better with time and practice! 🙂

Heartily congratulations to you on your 1st blogiversary (as it is known as). Both of us started a year ago and it changed our lives.
I’m so much thankful to you for all the encouragement you gave me and helped me out in so many indescribable ways.
Something not common these days!

Did I? I did not do anything particar that I recall! I liked your blog. I remember when we meet. I thought you were an expert blogger while I was trying to tame this new medium. I am still astonished at the number of things you publish and at the number of your posts when I struggle for at least two or three days to write only one…
But I am so glad I met you, your family and came to know your country better.
In these difficult times where relationships between our religions, cultures, countries, are marred by fanatiscim, I think your family and mine, you and me, may prove that we, individuals are able to live together and share common values.
And it is nice to know you, to talk to you, to write! Afriend and something of a brother… 🙂

And I had no idea you started up blogging a year ago before today 😀
I’m also so glad that we met and found out about each other’s lives, culture, seasons, customs and so much more.
It is indeed a rare thing but also a big proof for today’s world.

As I say fortunately, I have a close friend who reads my entries before I post them them on the blog. She does not change much (mostly typos and the odd English way to put words… I have polished my writing thanks to her.

Ideas like the one with Jeremy Fisher come sometimes with the illustrations. I thought I was French and therefore called “a frog” by Britih people; from frog I went to frog leaps; from frog leaps to Beatrix Potter and Jeremy Fisher; and the illustrations went well with what I wanted to write. In my mind, words are almost always associated with paintings or pictures, and sounds – music.

I started in Facebook years ago. I was (and still am) lonely in a lonely place. I found friends on Facebooks, a small number (less than 40), and we exchange news about concerts, arts, exhibitions, etc. Nothing really personal.

Goodreads was recommended by oe of theses friends. I try to keep track of some of my books.

I started blogging because I needed to write and I was encouraed to do it by another Facebook friend. I made it public immediately and was surprised (as I am today) to find readers!

A while ago, I opened this Facebook page to post the entries of my blog and it is a public page, distinct from my personal page. But now I think it is stupid not to let it be know that it exists and that bloggrs may post their blogs upon it if they wish. I would love it to be a spece for discussion. 🙂